oOl HISTORY OF 



CHAF. II. 



THE CRANE. 



There is something extraordinary in the different accounts 

 we have of this bird's size and dimensions. Willoughby and 

 Pennant make the crane from five to six feet long, from the tip 

 to the tail. Other accounts say that it is above five feet high ; and 

 others, that it is as tall as a man. From the many which I myself 

 had seen, I own this imputed magnitude surprised me ; as from 

 memory I was convinced, they could neither be so long nor so 

 tall. Indeed, a bird, the body of which is not larger than that 

 of a turkey-hen, and acknowledged on all hands not to weigh 

 above ten pounds, cannot easily be supposed to be almost as long 

 as an ostrich. Brisson, however, seems to give this bird its real 

 dimensions, when he describes it as something less than the 

 brown stork, about three feet high, and about four from the tip 

 to the tail. Still, however, the numerous testimonies of its 

 superior size are not to be totally rejected ; and, perhaps, that 

 from which Brisson took his dimensions, was one of the smallest 

 of the kind. 



The crane, taking its dimensions from him, is exactly three 

 feet four inches from the tip to the tail, and four feet from the 

 head to the toe. It is a tall slender bird, with a long neck and 

 long legs. The top of the head is covered with black bristles, 

 and the back of it is bald and red, vvliich sufficiently distinguishes 

 this bird from the stork, to which it is very nearly allied in size 

 and figure. The plumage in general, is ash-coloured ; and 

 there are two large tufts of feathers, that spring from the pinion 

 of each wing. These bear a resemblance to hair, and are finely 

 curled at the ends, which the bird has a power of erecting and 

 depressing at pleasure. Gesner says, that these feathers, in his 

 time, used to be set in gold, and worn as ornaments in caps. 



Such are the dimensions of a bird, concerning which, not to 

 mention modern times, there have been more fables propagated 

 than of any other. It is a bird with which all the ancient writers 

 are familiar; and, in describing it, they have not failed to mix 

 imagination with history. From the policy of the cranes, they 

 say, we are to look for an idea of the most perfect republic 



